Greenwich Local Sports Roundup May 6

Published 11:06 pm, Sunday, May 5, 2013

The Marlins Diving Club, based out of the Greenwich YMCA, competed at the 2013 YMCA National Championships held at the International Swimming Hall of Fame pool in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

With only seven Marlins divers competing, the club finished fourth overall.

"YMCA Nationals is always a great, fun experience. The kids don't often get a chance to dive outdoors, so it can be a challenge diving with the sun shining or the wind blowing, but they all did an outstanding job and we're proud of them," said Coach Dylan Korn.

Seven divers Marlins won 19 medals for the Marlins. The two-man Marlins men's team finished in fourth place, with James Hopper of Greenwich, earning the High Point Award for Men (a combination of team points earned by a single individual on all three events), and Lee Christensen of Darien finished eighth in the Men's all-around.

Christensen was in the top of his 16-21 year old age group throughout the competition, finishing second on platform and fourth on both the 1 and 3 meter springboards.

Hopper swept all three of his events in the 12-13 age group, earning three gold medals. Hopper also secured himself a prequalification to USA Diving Summer Junior Nationals in August where he will battle for a spot on Team USA for the Junior Pan-American Games in September.

The Marlins Women's team fared just as well, finishing fourth overall with five divers. Carolina Sculti of Rye, NY shared a 3-way tie for the High Point Award. Elizabeth Fitzpatrick of Darien tied for fourth place overall. Elizabeth Uhl of Greenwich tied for seventh place. Shannon Daine of Greenwich finished 19th and Madeline Kenney of Rye, NY finished 28th.

Sculti came away with gold medals on the 1 and 3 meter springboard and a silver medal on the platform in her 12-13 events. Fitzpatrick finished first in her 16-21 1 meter springboard, second place on 3 meter, and third on platform. Sculti and Fitzpatrick will join Hopper at the Junior Nationals in the hopes of earning a spot on the Junior Pan-Am team.

Ellie Uhl had an outstanding performance finishing second in her 14-15 platform event, third on 1 meter springboard, and sixth on 3 meter springboard. Daine finished seventh in her 14-15 platform on the first day. She also placed eighth on 1 meter springboard and ninth on 3 meter springboard. Kenney finalled in both of her springboard events, earning 7th on 1 meter and 8th on 3 meter.

"These amazing performances from our Marlins divers show how well our team is doing, but we just lack the depth that other teams have," said coach Lindsay Weigle. "Once we can build our numbers, I'm confident that we'll not only be on top at YMCA Nationals, but we will place higher at USA Diving Junior Nationals as well. We have great kids, and some potential future olympians! But we always encourage less experienced divers to try out our club because there's a place for everyone here."

The Five Mile Run is scheduled for May 27 starting at 8:15 a.m. There will also be a half-mile run for children through middle school age on the Havemeyer Field Track, following the five-mile race. Runners may register in person at Threads and Treads, 17 East Putnam Avenue, Greenwich, during store hours. You may also register online at www.threadsandtreads.com.

Registration will also be available the morning of the race at the Greenwich Senior Center, on Greenwich Ave. by the starting line from 7-8 a.m.

Participants will be filling out paper registration forms and cash or checks will be the only forms of payment accepted at registration on the morning of the race.

Golf for Abilis, hosted by Fred Trump, is set for Monday, June 10 and will include five-star cuisine and refreshments, 18 holes of golf and dinner/awards banquet at the private Trump National Golf Club in Briarcliff Manor, NY.

The event will benefit people of all ages from the Greenwich-Stamford area with autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and other developmental disabilities who are served by Abilis.